Staying motivated is one of the most difficult things for entrepreneurs. It is the lack of motivation that causes many entrepreneurs to quit.

Below are some tips on how some of the world’s successful entrepreneurs stayed motivated despite the ups and downs in the business.

Joe Martin, President of Merchandize Liquidators, LLC

Joe Martin, an Israeli-born, founded Merchandize Liquidators while pursuing a Business Administration degree at Florida International University. Hardworking and persistent to finish college, he opened Merchandise Liquidators to pay his way through college. Although faced with different challenges during the start of his business such as time and money for capital, it didn’t stop him from reaching his goal.

He was an international student during that period, which means he had to stay as a full-time student for legal reasons. The main issue he faced regarding his business was to convince major chain stores that he could get their closeouts on a consistent basis regardless of the lack of capital to buy goods and space to place it.

According to Joe Martin, socializing with the most successful people is the key to staying motivated. He says that when you socialize with people who are at a higher level of success than you, you get a mental push that will help you break the barriers that are stopping you from making millions.

Chase Jarvis, CEO at CreativeLive

Chase Jarvis, along with Craig Swanson, founded CreativeLive. Chase, a leader and a renowned creative himself, dedicated his company to providing an online space for visionary instructors to connect with creative professionals. He was not just the present CEO at CeativeLive, but also a director, an award winning photographer, and media maven. Furthermore, he created campaigns for Starbucks, RedBull, Nike, Apple, and other companies. He is also known for creating Best Camera, the world’s first photo application that lets the user share images to social networks.

Chase Jarvis first took the spotlight when he became the world’s best photographer at a young age. He went ahead to create CreativeLive which is the world’s biggest live-streaming education company.

Chase says that much of his success and motivation was from following his passions. He says that you should go after something that is dear to you and not random market opportunities. If you go for random opportunities, you will only be doing it for the dollars and thus you will not have the passion to stay with it.

Juanita Hines, Regional Consulting

Juanita Hines, passionate about helping people succeed, founded Regional Consulting. Because of her ability to help craft perfect resumes for her clients, she was known to be the “Resume Whisperer.” Her passion for helping has led her to start her company dedicated to professional empowerment by providing interview coaching and training in communities where no such opportunities were previously available.

Juanita also does a lot of speaking engagements at youth camps and schools. She also works with other non-profit organizations in encouraging students to start planning for their futures and assist professionals with insights on how to heighten their careers.

Juanita says that you should surround yourself with people who are striving to pursue their own success. This will encourage you to succeed in your own life as well.

Tim Ferriss, best-selling author and CreativeLive instructor

Tim Ferriss, considered as one of “Most Innovative Business People, is also an author. He wrote “The 4-Hour Workweek, the 4-Hour Body, and the 4-Hour Chef”, considered as Wall Street Journal and #1 New York Times bestsellers. Furthermore, he is an investor and consultant in Twitter, Facebook, Shopify, Uber, Duolingo and much more. His podcast was also recognized as the “Best of 2015” by Apple and the #1 business podcast on iTunes.

Tim’s key to success and staying motivated is to choose your friends wisely. He says that the best advice he ever received and still keeps him going is that you become an average of the 5 people who you associate with most.

Will Curran, President of Endless Entertainment

Will Curran, who was only 17 during that time, started his interest in DJing. He found a need missing in the entertaining industry and went head-first into satisfying such need.

Due to his passion for putting on events, each mistake he made became building blocks to grow his company further. One of his discoveries during the journey towards his goal was how customers would start coming to him if he provided excellent customer service after which everything would fall into place.

Will says that you succeed by fighting the small battles. He says he finds joy in overcoming obstacles and celebrating even small wins. He rewards himself after all the jobs are well done. According to Will, you can get overwhelmed if you focus too much on the bigger picture.

Justin Palmer, Founder & CEO of MedSaverCard

Justin gets his motivation by thinking about his future freedom. He says that entrepreneurship requires a lot of hard work but if you concentrate on your business now, it will give you the freedom and resources for the years to come.

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I have a friend who is lonely, who has such a good heart and desperately wants to find a partner who appreciates that goodness, to share a life with.

We have all felt this, I’m guessing: this desire for a deep connection, this hope that another person will just get us and want an intimate relationship with us, the idea that if we could just find this person and merge with them, we’d be fulfilled.

What if we tossed that idea out on its head?

What if everything we need for happiness and fulfillment is within us?

What if all the requirements for fulfillment were in this very moment, not in some imagined ideal future?

What if the idea of a romantic partner who is perfect (because of their imperfections!) and who fills our every need is just a fantasy that isn’t helping us?

The truth is that even those of us who have partners know that it’s not all honeymoon, and in fact a long-term relationship contains a lot of struggle. The fulfillment that we get in life ends up (mostly) not coming from the other person, but from ourselves.

What would it be like if we let go of this fantasy of a fulfilling partner, this fantasy of a better future … and instead focused on finding fulfillment in the here and now, within ourselves?

Where We Get Fulfillment

Another person isn’t going to fulfill us — at best, they’ll make us feel better about ourselves, and listen to us. The listening part is great, but we can get that from friends or family as well. The feeling better about ourselves is a function we can fulfill on our own as well. I’m not saying a partner is useless, but I am saying that a partner isn’t needed for fulfillment.

So how can we fulfill ourselves, by ourselves?

Well, what brings fulfillment? In my experience, focusing on pleasures like food, entertainment, online distractions, sex, drugs, alcohol, and thrills … these only bring temporary pleasure, but in the end you’re left wanting more.

Fulfillment comes from something deeper — finding meaning in life, finding appreciation for the fleeting beauty of every moment, being in service of others, loving.

But we don’t need a partner for those things. We can find meaning by searching within ourselves and in the world around us. We can start to appreciate the impermanence and joyful moments around us all the time. We can be in service of others in our community. We can love anyone, from those already in our lives (even if they don’t know we’re doing it) to strangers on the street, to all living beings.

Fulfillment From Within

What if we could do all these things just sitting here, doing nothing?

What if this very moment contained all we need for fulfillment?

Try looking within:

Stop and be still. Sit and do nothing, finding stillness and just noticing the moment.

See that there is constant change within you, and a loving goodness as well.

Fall in love with all that you see, from the emotions and thoughts to the body and breath, from the impermanence to the underlying goodness.

Reflect on a desire to be in service of yourself, and others.

Cultivate a love for yourself and all others by radiating a wish for everyone, including yourself, to be free of suffering, to be happy, to find joy.

Reflect on your innate connection to others — reflect on how others support your life, how the food that nourishes you is brought to you by thousands of others, how you’ve been created into the person you are because of the influences of every person you’ve met and connected with. This web of connections is how you are always a part of everything and everyone around you, a deep connection that is ever-changing and everlasting.

Reflect on your surroundings and in the constant change and beauty that is in every single thing, in the ocean of matter and energy that you are a part of.

These and more are always available, right now and in every moment, in you and all around you.

This practice can bring fulfillment, and nothing is required but attention, appreciation, gratitude and love. You have that in you.

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Have you ever tried to define the comfort zone? It’s that place that you don’t like, but you’re afraid to change. You know you’re supposed to do greater things. You want to be more successful. You want to learn more. You need to make a change. Still, the comfort zone is like a disease that kills your ability to make that change. It frightens you with the assumption: “What if I fail?”

Why is this state of inactivity called a comfort zone? Why does it make you comfortable where you are, even though you’re not happy with your accomplishments? You feel comfortable because you know nothing unexpected can happen. You have a vision of how your day, week and year are going to end.

Sooner or later, we all get the call to action. Something inside is telling us that we were not born to be comfortable. We were made for challenges – both on a personal and professional level. At that point, you have two options:

Honor the call and step out of that box, or

Keep convincing yourself that you’re perfectly well as you are.

What are you going to do (or not do)? I challenge you to make a change. Do you want to be something more than mediocre in this lifetime? If that’s the case, I invite you to keep reading. Together, we’re going to make an effort to get out of the comfort that’s slowly killing us inside.

Long-Term Comfort Zone = Dead Personal Growth

After reading a few biographies of successful people, here’s the conclusion I came down to: They never stop learning. In order to bring a change in this world, one has to possess powerful beliefs, creativity, the will to learn, and the courage to take action.

Successful people turn learning into a habit. They perceive life as a journey towards growth, which they achieve through knowledge and personal progress.

How do they turn that philosophy of life into practice? They always take action. They consistently step out of their comfort zone. They expand their mental and physical boundaries and they keep making their lives better.

Sometimes they fail. Failure is part of the journey, and it’s not devastating as long as it doesn’t push you into a comfort zone. As long as you keep trying, you’ll go towards improvement.

Comfortable? It’s Fake Comfort!

Maybe the decision to stay away from change keeps anxiety at bay. However, this feeling of comfort is fake. Do you know how it feels when you blame yourself for something you haven’t done? At one point, you look back and you realize: “If I did what I was supposed to do back then, my entire life would be different now.” Each decision leads to a chain action that has consequences on your future. When you don’t assume responsibility for your future, that doesn’t mean you’re not affecting it.

Assuming responsibility for your own life means taking responsibility for your beliefs, actions, and thoughts. You can’t control all factors and you can’t completely direct the outcome of your actions. However, when you take full responsibility for everything you do and the consequences that follow, you are stepping out of that zone on the path towards accomplishment.

People who are deeply chained in the state of comfort find different ways to put the blame on someone else. God, karma, bad luck, and mostly – other people. They always find ways to justify their inactivity and blame someone else.

That’s what’s comfortable in this zone: the thought that it’s not your fault and there was nothing you could do. If you find yourself somewhere in that description, it’s time for a realization: You ARE responsible for what happens to your life.

It’s about time you start being responsible for your own actions.

Without Risk and Challenges, there’s No Great Accomplishment

Do you know why you keep hearing about the success of Bill Gates, Richard Branson and other great leaders? They constantly do something that gets them in the headlines. That’s because they can’t afford to stay in a comfort zone. Clint Eastwood started off as an actor, but he didn’t stop there. He felt like acting in a film or two to earn money for a good life wasn’t enough. That’s why he keeps challenging himself: the thought of staying in the comfort zone of peaceful retirement would destroy the chances for any other great accomplishments.

Famous people are not lucky. They are persistent. They did something to deserve other people’s respect. They did that because they were brave enough to take risks and set huge personal and professional challenges.

You’ll Find Your Motivation as Soon as You Step Out of That Zone

Our lives are fueled by action. When you have a lousy day, think: did you do something to improve it? Stepping out of your comfort zone is enough to find inner motivation. Start exercising or read a challenging book. Sign up for an online course. Start looking at job ads. Do something!

If you’re willing to be active throughout your life, you will find the inner drive that keeps you going. We live in a time when doing anything is easy. You can find any information and start learning about the things you’re interested in. You can book a plane ticket and go see the Northern Lights in person. In other words – you can start searching for happiness instead of waiting for it to hit you (which won’t happen, anyway).

How exactly can you step out of that comfort zone? It’s all about the mindset. When you believe you can do something, you’ll find the strength to do it. Once you realize that all your actions form your future, there’s no other choice: you have to do something in favor of your happiness.

Comfort is bad. It keeps you inactive and unwilling. Challenges, on the other hand, are beautiful. Go live!

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I love passion! I love purpose! I love making money doing what you love! I love all of that stuff and I do believe that everyone can do exactly that. However, finding the thing that you want to build your life around, that is passion-fuelled, that is purpose-driven, and that you love, is just the first step.

You also have to make this passion make you money.

And guess how you do that?! – PEOPLE! People are how you get from having a great big dream of what you want to happen to actually making it happen. Let me explain as I go through these 4 points.

What is the problem

So, you have taken the first step. You decided to make money doing what you love. You wake up with a spring in your step knowing that you have finally found the thing you want to drop dead doing.

Well, it will not be long before you realize that you cannot live on happy feelings alone – You have to bring some money in. And you bring some money in by solving problems for someone else.

You know what you want to do, great. But how does it solve a problem or meet someone else’s need? Why will they buy it from you? Do they know that they have a need for it?

Take a moment here to see how your thing aligns with their needs. If you can find an urgent, pressing need that they have, even better.

Listen, this does not mean giving up your ideas of how you want to spend your life. This means getting VERY creative on how you position what you want to deliver as a solution to a problem that they have.

If you have something completely novel, then you may need to spend some time trialing different ways to position your self in the marketplace – BE COMMITTED to this process and in time, you will get clear on how what you have solves their problem.

If you choose to put stuff out there that’s already in the market, then check your competition’s strategies. Notice any gaps in the way they deliver and also remember that you are unique and the way you do things will never be the same as anyone else.

Allow your novelty to shine through. Go to Amazon, see reviews, see what people complain about if your product or service is talked about online, go to forums, do the research. Decide how to position yourself as solving the problem.

This is one major key to making money doing what you love – YOU NEED TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM. As mentioned, this may take trial and error to figure out how to solve the problem but DO THE WORK! And please do not give up hope even when it seems long and tedious.

Communication

OK, so now you need to start communicating with people, online, offline, anywhere and everywhere. You need to express yourself and how you can help them in as many different ways as possible.

Brainstorm different ways to tell people about you. Guest blog, write articles, get active on social media, go to networking events, get featured on the radio, be on magazine fronts. Do not hold back. When you get an idea for how to spread the word about you, follow through! Don’t give yourself too much time to think about it. You can refine your approach later.

For now, just go all out. When you get ideas of results, you can then decide to change tactics as you see what is working and what is not. But for right now, simply go all out! Be everywhere, doing something.

And if you are just getting started, do not underestimate how much effort it is going to take you to get seen everywhere. Do not think it is too much and people will get fed up of you – It is not the truth! It is just your fear talking. You need to keep getting out there in as many ways as you can think of!

Capture

Ok, now that people start to notice you, your next point of business is to start to capture people into your world. You need to have a social media platform of your own – A business page or a group that you run and that you can invite people into. This is a safe starting point for more people.

And then you want to get them onto a mailing list of your own. As much as we live in a very social media-driven world, you have no idea which platform will still be here next year. If you have spent lots of time and money getting people onto the one platform that closes down, you lose your audience and honey, you need an audience.

You need to start building an audience from point zero so please do not read any of these points in a sequential fashion and think that you do this stuff one after the other. NO!!! You do it all at once. You start to build an audience even when you are not completely sure what solution you provide.

Yes, I know it seems contrary to what you thought but that, my honey, is why lots of people do not succeed in business. They think that it all needs to go along with the way we were all trained in school. No! In school, you were trained to be an employee and now you are an entrepreneur. Everything is somewhat contrary to what you learnt.

Start building that mailing list now.

Close

Every day, in some way, you need to be mentioning your product, service, art, books, music, whatever! EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I am appalled and horrified by the numbers of entrepreneurs, particularly online ones, who do not tell people how they can solve problems and then take it one step further and tell people exactly what to do to BUY something. Never assume that people will read through the lines and know what to do next, they will not. They will just assume you are entertaining, inspiring educating for no reason. They will love you but they will not buy from you.

And remember that people are very distracted! Life today is very busy. If you are not specifically telling them what to do next to buy from you, then they will simply not buy. You will, however, have created space for the next savvy entrepreneur who is offering what you are but has the wisdom to mention it repeatedly. You would have warmed the customer up!

And again, do not be disheartened by how much of an audience you have to build to start making consistent sales. Just simply get on with following all these key ways and get on with creating wealth for you and yours slowly but surely and consistently.

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